Portable folding display case



m 1.9%. 5, 22 A. N. SANBORN PORTABLE FOLDING DISPLAY CASb Filed Sept. 15 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 P/ g. 5 45 INVENTOR r azzw Mam A TTORNEY Aug. 10 1926. 1,595,622

A. N. SANBORN I PORTABLE FOLDING DISPLAY CASE Filed Sept. 1 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 33 /-A A f I I I I3 I; 4 /3} 8% A A 22 /5 H in 11 i 1 1552 .m. h /2 n ii 1+ 5 m w 3 v I /22 35 U H H F" fimm AITTORNEY ill ll z'ztented Aug. 10, 1926.

ALLEN SAN'BORN, OI

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

PORTABLE FOLDING DISPLAY CASE.

Application filed September 15, 1925.

My invention relates to trunks and cases adapted for packing therein garments, such as suits, dresses or other articles of convenience, and it has special'reference to portable cases for salesmen that can be set up on a supporting surface and extended for the panoramic display of the garments contained in the case.

Ordinary trunks and cases for the use of travelling salesmen are not adapted for display purposes, because they are too cumbersome to handle, and the garments packed therein become so creased and wrinkled'that they can not be advantageously exhibited to prospective buyers without first being somewhat pressed. At every city or town, where the salesman stops to exhibit his goods and interview his customers, he is thus compelled to repeat the pressin process to a degree or otherwise to exhi it his sample garments in a more or less unpresentable condition. Much of the salesmans valuable time is thus taken up in keeping the garments in a state inducible to sales,

and accordingly extra expenses are involved for the salesman who carries trunks or cases of the ordinary kind as a part of his regular sales equipment.

Again, trunks and cases, which have a total length of from 48 to inches for the purpose of storing garments therein at full length in order to avoid the expense of repeated pressings of the garments, are not of a size convenient for automobile transportation, and, when checked b the railroads, an additional charge is ma e for their extra length. Thus, 'beside the objection to the inconvenience they occasion in handling, they also are impractical because of the check ng charges, which" on a long journey will, reach a considerable amount for the salesman.

The principal object of this invention is to construct a portable, folding displaycase so that it can be opened and set upright for displaying panoramically, and in the most attractive and advantageous way, and at full length the garments, carried therein. Such a case can be used by the general public, but it is ideally-adapted for the use of salesmen, who, travelling long distances with samples of garments for display to prospective customers, depend upon a favorable impression of their exhibition for returning large and satisfactory orders for their goods to the firms they represent.

Serial No. 56,422.

Another object is to make the case so foldable that there will be only one fold in the garments carried therein when the case is in its folded position, and so that the new appearance of the garments is preserved and therefore their frequent repressing for display purposes is unnecessary.

A. further object of the invention is to construct the case and the rincipal attachments therefor so as to orm a complete unit, in which there are no parts liable to get lost and thereb interfere with the eflicient handling of t e case in practical daily use.

An additional object is to make a case that is adapted to be carried with one hand and of a size and shape most convenient for train travel or other modes of travel, so that a passenger on a Pullman car can easily slip the case under his berth, and. need not be annoyed by the inconvenience and expense of having it checked.

An important object not to be overlooked isalso to make a folding case of light and inexpensive, yet strong and durable, material, and to sell it also to the public at a nominal price.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be understood from the followin detailed descriptionof the preferred embo 'ment thereof, illustrated in the ac companying drawings, in' which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view drawn to a small scale, of a portable, folding display-case involving my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, and shows the rear section of a case with the rear wall thereof and the end ortion pivoted thereto placed flat upon a cor or other flat support, and the front section raised vertically in order to illustrate the first step in the setting up of the case for the display of the garments therein, and which garments as well as the hangers therefor are indicated by light dash-anddot lines;

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2, showing the front section of the case placed with the 'front wall thereof in the same plane as the end portion and the rear wall, and illustrates the second step in the setting up of the case;

Fig. 4 is a plan of the case laid flat as in Fig. 3, and shows the extensible support for the rack swung out of the rear section and over the end portion and into'the front ill) . portion of the rack resting thereon.

section of the case, and also shows the garments laid out to their full length and a y This View illustrates the third step in the setting up of the case.

Fig. is a section similar to Fig. 3, and shows the rack and the garments as in Fig. 4. In this View the rods that engage the guide members are pushed in so as to 'efiect engagement with all the members to stifien the said plane, thus illustrating the fourth step in the setting up of the case.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the case of Fig. 5 raised to upright position, and the extensible support adjusted to floor level so as to rigidly support the case. This view shows the clothes hangers engaging the rack and the garments thereon, and illustrates the fifth step in the setting up of the case.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of Fig. 6, with a portion of a side wall broken away to show the fixed portion of the rack to advantage. This view also shows some of the garments slid out of the case on the pivotal portion of the rack for panoramic display thereon.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line of Fig. 6, and shows the rear wall of the case fragmentally and the manner in which one of the guide members is secured thereto and also the bar in engagement with the guide member;

Fig. 9 is a fragmental plan of the parts shown in Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged plan taken in sec tion along the line 101O of Fig. 6, and shows the foot of the extensible supporting member.

in outward appearance the portable,-

folding display-case 11 of my invention resembles, when folded and locked as shown in Fig. 1, Very much the ordinary suit case, but the manner and arrangement of the principal parts thereof are radically difierent in order to adapt the case more esp cially for a panoramic display of garments 12 supported on hangers 13.

For this purpose the case 11 comprises three principal parts; namely, a front section 14, a rear section 15 and an end portion 16. The front section 14, again, comprises a front wall 17, two side walls 18 and 19 and an end wall 20, while the end 0})- posite to the end wall 20 is open and at this open end the front wall 17 has secured thereto one member of a hinge 21, which is preferably of the piano-hinge type and reaches virtually from the side wall 18 to the side wall 19.

The rear section 15 comprises a rear wall 22, two side walls 23 and 24 and an end wall and has, in symmetrical arrangement with the front section 14, an open end opposite to the end wall 25, and at this open end the rear wall 22 has secured thereto one member of another hinge 26, which also,

aseaeaa like the hinge 21, preferably is of the piano hinge type and extends virtually from the side wall 23 to the side wall 24.

In a similar manner the other members of the hinges 21 and 26 are secured to the .side edges of the end portion 16, and one of the sections 14 or 15, preferably the section 15 is somewhat narrower than the other section in order to allow the wider section to be swung upon the hinges 21 and 26 and folded onto the other section. When one section is thus folded onto the other section, the case is held securely together by any suitable clasps 27, attached thereto, which assure a locking engagement between the rear wall 22, of the rear section 15, and the .side walls 18 and 19 of the front section 14, as shown in Fig. 1. For convenience in carrying the case, it may be further provided with a handle 28, suitably attached to the side wall 19.

Tu the rear section 15 of the case 11 thus constructed, is fixed a rackportion 29, preferably in the end wall of the rear section 15, by riveted rod members 31, which are hook-sha ed at the ends attached to the portion 29 {big 4) and the hook-shaped ends are transverse to the rack port-ion in order to allow the hooks 13 of the hangers 13 to clear the hooks of the members in the sliding of the hangers on the rack portion, aswill be hereinafter explained. To

the fixed portion 29 is pivotally secured at its outer end and preferably at its junction with the end of the outer member 31, as

shown at 32, one end of a suitably formed bar 33 which is also a portion of the rack, and to which at its other end, as shown at 34, is pivotally connected one end of the innermost member 35 of an extensible support for the rack and case. This support comprises, beside the member 35, an intermediate member 36 and an outer member 37. In order to allow the members 35, 36, and 37 to be retained in adjusted position relative to one another, thumb screws 38 and 39, or the like, are provided in the members 36 and 37, and the latter member has at its free end a suitablesupporting foot 40 thereon.

To the inside of the front wall 17, the end portion 16 and the rear wall 22 are fixed, for instance, as by rivets 41, guide members 42 of tubing for example, and these guide members are preferably rectangular in crosssection, as shown in Fig. 8, so that the said members may receive slidably therein rectangular bars 44. The guide members for this purpose are arranged in pairs in the front wall 17, the end portion 16 and the rear wall 22. and each member of each pair is aligned with the respective members in the other pairs when the wall 17, the portion 16 and the wall 22 are in one plane. These bars 44 always engage the guide members on the rear wall 22, and on the inside of the wall 22 are preferably also secured pairs of guide blocks 45, the blocks of each pair being spaced apart sufficiently to allow the bar 44 to slide freely between the blocks, and the space being aligned with the guide-ways 43 in the respective guide members 42 in the end portion 16 and the front wall 17 when the wall 17 the end portion 16 and the wall 22 are in one plane, so that thereby the guide blocks 45 serve as means for guiding the bars 44 in their initial movement toward the guide members in the end portion 16 and the front wall 17.

A knob 46 is further provided on each bar 44 at the end thereof in order to allow easy manipulation of the bars, the knobs also serving as stops, so that when the case 11 is in the upright position the bars can not by gravity work themselves through the upper members 42 and become disengaged therefrom and thus cause the case to collapse. It should be observed that the bars 44 are preferably made of a strong and material so that they may be capabi of retaining'the front wall 17 the end portion 16 and the rear Wall 22 in one plane, no matter how many garmentsv are suspended from the fixed portion 29 and the bar 33 of the rack.

When it is desired to set up the case for panoramic display of the garments 12 therein, the case is laid so that the rear wall 22 of the rear section 15 rests upon a floor or other horizontal surface, represented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 by a' dot-and-dash line. The clasps 27 having been unlocked, the front section 14 and the end portion 16 are swung on the hinge 26 until the front section stands upright and the end portion 16 lies-flat in the same plane as the end wall 22. When this has been done, the front section is swung on the hinge 21 until the front wall 17 also lies in the same plane. After this the operator reaches under the folded garments and slides the'bars 44 so that they engage all the guide members 42, as shown in Fig. 5. The garments are then laid flat in the case, as shown in Fig. 5, and the extensible support for the rack and case is. swung upon the pivot 34 and laid on top of the garments.

The case may now be raised to the upright position and the members 35, 36, and 37 of the support adjusted so that the rack bar 33 and the rack fixed portion 29 are in aligned horizontal position, and the thumb screws 38 and 39 tightened so as to present the unit as shown in Fig. 7. Finally, for such of the gari'nents -12 as are desired for panoramic display the hangers 13 are slid out on the bar 33 and over the hook shaped ends of the supporting rod members 31, While for such garments as are not desired for display the hangers ar retained or placed on the fixed portion 29. When al, such as papiermach, or light fiber, or v I may make the case of some substance,

which further experiments will prove to be still better adapted for this purpose. It is essential that lightness be combined with strength, since the lighter the material is,

the easier it will be to handle the case, and also the better adapted it will be for carryingia greater number of samples therein.

aving thus described my invention, I

claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States the follow:

ingzi 1. A portable case of the character, de-

ing an open en and bein provided with a front wall, two side wa ls and an end wall opposite to the open end' 'a rear section also having an open end and being provided with a rear wall, two side walls and an end wall opposite to the open end of the rear section; an end portion pivotally secured to the front section and the rear section at said open ends, said sections being adapted to pull one into the other and to open so that said front and rear walls and said end portion are in one plane; a plurality of guide members secured in each section and in said end portion, the guide. members in said end portion being aligned with the respective guide members in said sections when said front and rear walls and said end portion are in said plane; and bars adapted to slide in the respective aligned guide members and, when engaging all the aligned members, to retain said front and rear walls and said end portion in said plane. a

2. A portable case of the character described comprising a front section, a rear section, an end portion pivotally secured to the front section and the rear section. aligned guide members in said sections and end portion and a bar slidable in said aligned guide members whereby said sections and end portion may be held in one plane.

3. In a display device having a collapsible display rack and a portable case therefor, said portable case comprising a front section, a fear section, an end portion hingedly secured to the front section and the rear section, aligned guide members upon said sections and end portion in proxscribed and com rising a front section havimity to said hinges and members slidable in said guide members to hold said sections and end portion in alignment.

4. In a display device having a collapsible display rack and a portable case therefor, said portable case comprising a front section lmving an open end and being provided with a front Wall, two side Walls. and an end wall opposite to the open end; a rear section also having an open end and being provided with a rear Wall, two side Walls and an end Wall opposite to the open end of the rear section; an end portion hingedly secured to the front section and th rear section at said open ends, said sections being collapsible one Within the other, guide members secured in each section and the end portion, said guide members being aligned and a member adapted to slide in said guide members to retain said front and; rear walls and said end portion in one plane.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ALLEN N SANBORN. 

